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Off to the Races (song)
|DS = |album = Born to Die |previous ="Born to Die" |next = "Blue Jeans" |released = December 20, 2011}}"Off to the Races" is a song written by Lana Del Rey and Tim Larcombe and produced by Patrik Berger and Emile Haynie. Taken from Del Rey's first major-label album Born to Die, the song served as the album's first promotional single worldwide. Writing and inspiration In a 2012 interview, Del Rey described "Off to the Races" as a song where you could tell by the energy that she was right in the middle of a relationship where times were happy but also chaotic. She continued about the relationship by saying: "We were traveling between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, he was gambling, I was just swimming, and yeah I mean, I used to indulge in a lot drugs and dark poetry, and pop culture, and amazing music, but I've quieted down a lot but I just reminisce about it. I live a really simple life today". That describes what "Off to the Races" was written about.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alJqRB9V2ZY Background and live performances "Off to the Races" was released in the UK as iTunes Single of the Week on December 20, 2011.http://idolator.com/6119802/lana-del-rey-off-to-the-races-video It was then released as a digital single in the Netherlands on January 6, 2012 on the iTunes Store.https://itunes.apple.com/nl/album/off-to-the-races-single/id488697409 On November 4, 2011, at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester, United Kingom, Del Rey performed the song live for the first time, before it was officially released. It was the final song of the set.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/06/new-lana-del-rey-song_n_1078536.html She also performed the song on the Endless Summer Tour (2015) Festival Tour (2016), as well as a portion of her 2017 performances and the LA to the Moon Tour (2018). Composition Del Rey employs an alternative rapping technique, hip-hop beat and heavy basslines, similar to that of "National Anthem" and "Diet Mountain Dew" in the song.http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16769/reviews/4144405?search The song samples "Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force while the beat subtly samples "Dernier Domicile Connu" by François De Roubaix. Indie music website Pitchfork said the rapping technique was almost "chatting."http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16223-lana-del-rey/ The song references the novel Lolita, with lyrics such as, "Light of my life, fire of my loins".http://www.spin.com/articles/lana-del-rey-plays-hood-lolita-races One of the track's demos was produced by Shawn Lee and features military style snares during the chorus and has a completely different vocal track. A fan asked Lee if he could share the demo but he was not allowed by the label to do that. However, the demo was available on Del Rey's SoundCloud account for a period of time but it was downloaded only by one user.https://web.archive.org/web/20100530082249/http://soundcloud.com/lanadelrey A demo of the song, labeled "Mix 9" which had previously only been available on out-of-circulation promotional EPs sent to press, leaked on July 25, 2016. This version contained slightly different instrumentation, it was recorded on September 25, 2011. Another demo, labeled "Early Mix", leaked from a French sampler of Born to Die leaked on August 14, 2016. This version is similar to the "Mix 9" one, but with slight differences in the background instrumentation. Critical reception "Off to the Races" has been lyrically described as "a freak show of inappropriate co-dependency".http://www.nme.com/reviews/lana-del-rey/12561 Giving the song a negative review, Pitchfork said it "...aims for chatty, sparkling opulence," adding that she "doesn't have the personality to bring it off."http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16223-lana-del-rey/ The Guardian wrote that "Off to the Races' turns Del Rey from vintage siren to R&B hoochie most convincingly. There's jazz in Del Rey's dextrous vocal, and new territory in the swoop and pow of Haynie's undertow." http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/jan/29/lana-del-rey-born-die-review Comparing the song to "Video Games" and "Blue Jeans", The Huffington Post blogged that the song was "...pretty good...and it sounds just as catchy..."http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/06/new-lana-del-rey-song_n_1078536.html Of the song's music video, reviewer Robbie Daw commented: "...it seems the video’s producer was off to find the cheesiest footage of old shoot-'em-up '80s B-movies for this clip."http://idolator.com/6119802/lana-del-rey-off-to-the-races-video Cross-references *References to Coney Island are also present in "Mermaid Motel", "Carmen", "TV in Black & White", as well as others. *Drug references are found throughout Del Rey's songs; this includes "Yayo", "Disco", "Hollywood" and many others. *Las Vegas is mentioned in "Go Go Dancer", "Hollywood's Dead", "Noir", and others. *LA is mentioned in many of Del Rey's songs; these include "1949", "Because of You", "Birds of a Feather", "Never Let Me Go", and others. *A "cocaine heart" is also mentioned in the demo version of "Carmen". *Swimming pools are mentioned quite frequently; notably in "Push Me Down", "Heavy Hitter", "Gangsta Boy", "This Is What Makes Us Girls" and many others. *Alcohol is a recurring theme in many of Del Rey's songs. *The Chateau Marmont is featured in many songs, including "Heavy Hitter", "Elvis", "She's Not Me", and others. *A gold chain is mentioned in "Dangerous Girl"; gold is a recurring theme in Del Rey's songs. *Del Rey refers to her nail polish in "1949", "The Blackest Day" and alludes to it in "Your Girl". *A red dress is also mentioned in "Summertime Sadness", "Cruel World", "Yes to Heaven", "Carmen" and "Criminals Run the World". *Del Rey pleas with someone to come and save her in "Daddy Issues" and "God Bless America - and All the Beautiful Women in It". *"My old man" is a lyric also mentioned in "Heroin". *Direct reference to the song "Without You". *"Light of my life, fire of my loins" is a phrase from the book "Lolita" by Vladimir Nabokov. In the book (and subsequent movie) Lolita has to do what her old man says to get money from him, like the lyrics "be a good baby, do what I want... gimme them gold coins, gimme them coins". Lolita also wore a "white" bikini and had on "red nail polish" in the movie. Del Rey also sings about Lolita in "Lolita". Music video Background and description On December 22, 2011, Lana Del Rey uploaded a homemade music video for "Off to the Races" on her YouTube channel. It is composed of film clips, and does not feature Del Rey herself. The video features Latin American gangsters, femme fatale figures with guns, and a race track. It has since been privatized for unknown reasons, although unofficial uploads still exist around the web.http://www.undertheradarmag.com/news/watch_lana_del_rey_-_off_to_the_races_video/ Official versions * Album version — 4:59 * Single version — 5:01 * Radio edit — 3:54 * Instrumental version — 4:58 * "Mix 9" demo version — 5:05 * "Early Mix" demo version — 5:10 * Shawn Lee demo — 5:02 Lyrics Album version Radio edit Promotional releases Credits ;Personnel *Lana Del Rey — vocals, songwriting *Tim Larcombe — songwriting *Patrik Berger — production, guitar, bass guitar, percussion, synthesizer, sampler, drum programming *Emile Haynie — production, drums, additional keyboards *Carl Bagge — strings arrangement *Frederik Syberg — violin *Erik Holm — viola *Pelle Hansen — cello *Dan Grech Marguerat — mixing *Duncan Fuller — mixing assistance *John Davis — mastering ;Technical *Published by Copyright Control / EMI *Mastered at Metropolis Matering, London, United Kingdom Charts References Category:Born to Die singles Category:Born to Die songs Category:Singles Category:Songs Category:Endless Summer Tour songs Category:Born to Die Tour songs Category:Music videos Category:Festival Tour songs Category:Born to Die music videos Category:Released songs Category:Lana Del Rey (EP) songs Category:Promotional singles Category:Born to Die promotional singles Category:LA to the Moon Tour songs Category:Norman Fucking Rockwell Tour songs